


Begin Again

by martinfreemanwearsjumpers



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Failed Romances, Left at the Altar, M/M, also a little bit of angst, but way more fluffy fluff, changed title., fluffy fluff, idek, sort of fits t-swizzles song, widower
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-24
Updated: 2014-09-18
Packaged: 2018-01-02 11:54:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1056477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/martinfreemanwearsjumpers/pseuds/martinfreemanwearsjumpers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Michael had been left at the altar twice, and Gavin's moved to Texas to escape the aftermath of his wife's death.</p><p>They were done, they had given up so much hope, they didn't think it was possible.</p><p>They never thought they'd get a second chance.</p><p>(Originally titled: I Never Thought I'd See the Day</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sandbox

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Thanks for clicking on my story (even if you did it by mistake)! 
> 
> Hopefully this story goes well and the boys stay pretty IC. 
> 
> Also, as a general rule, I'm unbetaed and therefore lots of mistakes will be left in the mix--sorry about that!
> 
> *This isn't a songfic, it's just that I guess it sort of worked out to sort of mean the same thing as the song?

Michael Jones sat on the front steps of the church with a ring in his hands, sighing as the sun beat down on him, sweat pooling along the back of his neck.  

“Hey.”

He looked up to see his best friend, his best man, standing in front of him in his own tuxedo embellished with a rose.  Michael sighed in frustration and stared back down at the ring.

“Dude, it’s fine.  We’ll go out tonight and you can get totally wasted while I sit next to you and make sure you don’t walk into the street or something.  It’s going to be fine.”

Michael shook his head.

“This isn’t fucking fine, Ray.  Who the hell gets left at the altar?”

“It happens all the time, dude.  She just got cold feet.  Maybe it’ll fall through--”

“Twice, Ray.  I got left at the altar twice, and if the first time is any indication, she doesn’t come back. It doesn’t fall through,” Michael all but screamed, on his feet once again.  “What the hell is wrong with me?”

“Nothing is wrong with you, Michael,” Ray sighed, watching as his best friend walked away from the church--as well as all of the curious relatives that had been left in the church while his bride sauntered away--towards the playground across the street.

“How can you even say that?  Lindsay and I had been engaged for a year and she left me!  She was my best friend!”

“Man, I don’t--”

Michael screamed as he threw the ring blindly, landing it in the sandbox.

“Shit,” he muttered, running towards the sandbox.  

When he arrived, thankfully no children in the box to make him look like a creeper, he got on his knees and sifted his fingers through the grains.  Shit, did he need to find that ring.  He had been wise enough to get a receipt this time (after serious encouragement from the jeweler, Kerry), so at least he could get some of his hard-earned cash back.

“Izzy, come on, love!”

Michael looked up to see a man his age, with disheveled hair and a much too large nose, chasing after a toddler waddling toward the sandbox.  The little girl smiled up at Michael and kneeled as well, mimicking his actions.

“Izzy, what are you doing?” the man asked, in a British accent, Michael realized.

Michael stood up not wanting to look suspicious.  

The little girl, Izzy, however, was holding something in her hands, holding it up to Michael.

The ring.

“Oh god, thank you,” Michael sighed when the toddler placed the jewelry in his hand.  

“Are you getting married today?” she asked, stammering through parts of the sentence.

“I was going to,” he replied, trying to brush off some of the sand from his tux.

“I’m sorry,” the man interrupted, picking Izzy up and holding her with one arm under her tush.  “She gets away so easily nowadays.”

Michael shook his head, placing the ring in his pants pocket.

“No worries.”

“I’m Gavin, by the way,” the man said, putting his free hand out.  

“Michael.”

-

Gavin sat up on the couch where he had fallen asleep the night before.

“Good thing you’re awake, bud.  Do you think you run out and get some milk?”

He nodded slowly, standing up.  He pulled a sweatshirt on and shuffled toward the door, slipping his shoes on.

“Hey, here’s the money for it,” his friend handed him the money, rubbing his hands on his apron.  “And grab some gum or something to wake you up.  Anything to make you feel better.”

“Right, Geoff.”

Gavin nodded, locking the door on his way out.  

As he walked across the street to the convenience store, he couldn’t help but think that he hadn’t felt better.  The whole point of him moving to Texas with Geoff was to help him feel better, but he just hadn’t.

He pulled open the door to the store, made his purchases of milk and a bag of Swedish Fish, and started to make his way back to Geoff’s.

But even if he didn’t feel good in Texas, it had to be better than how he would have felt in England.  There was no way it could have been worse.

He knocked on the door, was welcomed by Geoff who eagerly pulled the milk from his hands, and jumped on by Izzy.

“Can we go to the playground later, please, Gavvy?” she squealed.

Gavin looked over at Geoff who was placing pancakes on the table.  The tattooed man nodded.

“Sure thing, Izzy.”

-

When the little girl came him from her half-day kindergarten, Gavin was waiting at the door with a sandwich for her, ready to leave.  Izzy, in turn, was pleased, throwing her bag on the floor and following her companion.

She held his hand as they walked toward the playground a few blocks away.  

"Gavin, is someone getting married today?"

The British man turned his head toward the church across the road from the playground to see a red carpet rolled out on what was usually a stone path to the entrance of the church, white rose petals spread across it, and plenty of people loitering outside of the building in fancy clothing.

"Maybe, Iz."

But the little girl and already run towards the swings, struggling to get up with her small stature.  Gavin chuckled, shaking his head, following her and helping her up.

They played together for a while, Gavin, so enthralled, missed the gorgeous red-headed lady in a white dress that was only the slightest bit less beautiful than her run out of the church.  So distracted, he missed the calls of "Lindsay, please, don't go!" from across the street.

He looked up, however, when Izzy started running toward the sandbox after a few minutes.  He noticed that the petals on the carpet had been kicked off and were now scattered across the church's lawn.  He noticed that the people were spilling out of the church, the men with their jackets and ties off, the women all chattering in groups.

"Izzy, come on, love!" he shouted after her.

He noticed the man in a tuxedo kneeling at the sandbox, digging desperately.  Gavin caught the eye of the dark haired man behind the digger who was fiddling nervously with his rose.

He noticed Izzy kneeling with the man, her own fingers moving through the sand.

"Izzy, what are you doing?" he asked, moving to stand right behind her.

The man stood, and Gavin didn't speak, didn't ask any questions.

He looked down as she held something shiny in her hands, holding it up to the man.

"Oh, god, thank you."

Iz stood up, taking Gavin's hand.

"Are you getting married today?" she asked nervously.  She wasn't very good with speaking to new people.

Gavin watched the man's face drop to an even sadder expression than it had been before.

"I was going to."

Evidently, this situation was only going to get awkward, so Gavin quickly pulled Izzy up, carrying her with one arm (a skill that he was incredibly proud of).

"I'm sorry, she gets away so easily nowadays."

The tuxedoed man shook his head, placing the object--a ring, Gavin observed--in his pocket.  "No worries."

"I'm Gavin, by the way," he introduced, holding his hand in hopes that he would accept a handshake.

The man, for the first time since his arrival, offered a small smile, taking his hand.

"Michael."


	2. Company

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right, well. I decided that perhaps I would try to finish the story off, you know? Write the entire thing, and if I mess up, oh well...
> 
> (Gavin should be sort of OOC at the moment--he is semi-depressed, after all. And Michael is just really good at hiding his emotions in public okay cool thanks.)
> 
> ((Also, I'm unbetaed and therefore am responsible for every mistake made, whether it be continuity, grammar, or spelling.))
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

"I just want to go home, Ray.  I just want to leave.  I want to play some Halo and kill some assholes and drink some beer and whiskey and whatever else I can get my hands on."

"And then tomorrow, we'll take the ring back."

Michael nodded, a single tear falling from his face, followed by sobs escaping when Ray wrapped his arms around his body.

"I hate this," Michael groaned and sniffled.  "I hate this so much."

Ray patted his friend on the back.

"It's fine.  Come on, get in my car, I'll do the apology and dismissal, and I'll be there in a second, okay?"

Michael shrugged, taking the keys being offered to him as he walked towards Ray's shitty car.

He opened the door to the car, staring at its interior for a few moments and sighed.

He imagined Ray standing in front of the church--he'd done it once already, after Michael choked up to the point where he couldn't speak--stared at by his relatives, by his parents, who would know exactly what words what come out of his mouth.

Something like, "they weren't ready" or "it wasn't meant to be" followed by something like "the reception is still on" or "you can take your presents back" or "just leave the groom and bride alone for a bit".

He didn't want to have his family go through this every time.

He loved them all too much, but perhaps that was his problem.  He was a passionate person, and when he was angry, that passion could be mistaken for rage.  When he loved, though, he loved so passionately that it scared him--and obviously other people.

He wondered if he could stop loving, period.

Ray pulled open the driver's side door, interrupting Michael's thoughts.

"Hey, okay, your mom says she'll call you to make sure you're okay.  Lindsay's mom apologized."

"She didn't have to apologize for her daughter's shit," Michael groaned, holding his face in his hands.

"That's what I told her," Ray replied, turning the key in the ignition.  "Minus the shit thing."

Michael didn't reply, taking a moment to look out the window like the teenage girl that he evidently was.

"Should we stop by Jersey Mike's to get some grub?"

Michael shrugged, but Ray knew better than to leave him without food for the night, so he pulled into the parking lot for Jersey Mike's.

He wondered how many times he would be left alone in the car that day, but he couldn't bother.  The world sucked today, everyone sucked, except for Ray, and Michael wished the world would end.

God, he needed a beer.

-

Ray had kept his promise of sitting next to Michael the whole night while he sat and drank, but they didn't do it in a bar.

Michael sat in his apartment, the apartment that was supposed to be Lindsay's too, that night, on his couch and stared blankly at the television.

He couldn't help but notice the missing things, her movies were gone, the clothes she'd left after a few nights over, vanished. Her favorite wine was still in the kitchen, accompanied by a post-it note and a ring that Michael pretended didn't exist.  Ray had gone straight for the kitchen counter when they entered, trying to hide the fact that her wedding ring was there, the ring that matched the one he had, the one he was in charge of handing to Michael.  The one he wouldn't get the chance to hand to his best friend.

"Do you wanna play some Halo?" Ray asked.

Michael nodded with a half-smirk.

"Hell yeah.  Let's kill some weirdos."

-

Gavin and Izzy made their way home after another hour of playing.

Geoff and Griffon were seated on the couch, both with controllers in hand as they screamed.

"Grif watch your back, this BrownMan is good!" Geoff exclaimed.

"Ah!  The hell?  MLPMichael just sniped my head off," Griffon groaned, standing up.  "Here, Gav, you play.  I have to get Izzy washed up."

"But mo--" Izzy hardly managed to get the words out before she was cut off by Griffon picking her up.

Gavin settled into the couch, mashing at buttons and sighing as his opponents killed him.

"Are you playing a two-on-two?" Gavin asked, noticing no one else was on the map.

"I was determined to beat these guys," Geoff shrugged.  "But I ca--"

"Oh!" Gavin and Geoff heard from their headsets.  "Shit!  Nailed it, Ray!"

Gavin turned to Geoff.

"Those aren't twelve year olds," Geoff muttered as he respawned.

"Damn!" a voice shouted into their headphones when Gavin shot MLPMichael in the head from across the map.  "Dude got me!"

And for that night, Gavin felt happy, playing repeated 2v2 games with BrownMan and MLPMichael, who both respectfully requested Geoff be there friend on Xbox Live, in case they ever decided to play another game.

He couldn't help but wonder why the name Michael kept popping up today, but hell, who cares?  He would be able to sleep tonight.

-

Michael woke up the next morning to Ray dropping a plate in the sink in a lame attempt to make breakfast.

"What the hell are you doing, man?"

"I figured you'd want some food or shit but you don't have crap in your fridge."

Michael shrugged.

"Yeah, that'll happen."

Ray chuckled, offering a feeble plate of burnt eggs.  "But I managed to put that together."

"You suck at cooking."

"Yeah," Ray smirked.  "That'll happen."

Michael poked the egg with a fork and shook his head, standing up and grabbing his jacket.

"Come on, I may be hungover, but I'm not crazy enough to eat anything you've cooked.  Let's get some actual food."

-

"Gavin, can I have pancakes for breakfast?"

"Iz, your parents didn't buy any pancake batter."

"Please?"

Gavin cocked his head, watching as she smiled widely.

"What if we have breakfast at the diner?"

"Yeah, alright.  Go call your dad at work and make sure he's okay with that."

-

"I'll take the pancakes, please," Michael heard at the table next to him while he read through the menu.

Ray was speaking to their server, describing an order that was far too large for a man of his fairly skinny stature, when Michael decided on a plate of not scorched scrambled eggs and three pancakes with bacon.

"I'll take two pancakes and some scrambled eggs with bacon, please," Michael heard, the voice somewhat familiar.  "And hash browns."

Oh, right.  Hash browns sounded awesome.

Michael placed his order and turned his head to watch the waiter go back into the kitchen, but his eye caught that of the man sitting beside him who had just ordered hash browns.

"Gavin, right?"

The man snapped his fingers.

"Michael, right!  Crazy bumping into you.  Feeling any better?"

"Sort of, yeah.  I mean, this stuff happens.  It happened to Adam Sandler in that movie once so," Michael shrugged.

"And you, loser," Ray teased behind him.  "I'm Ray, by the way."

"Right, rose guy from yesterday," Gavin said, shaking the hand offered to him.  "And, as you might remember, this is Isabella."

Izzie smiled, sipping at her chocolate milk.

"So how old is she?" Ray asked with a gentle wave at her.

"I'm five," she replied eccentrically.

"Well, it's really cool that you join your dad for breakfast so early in the morning," Ray added.

"Gav isn't my dad," she said, followed by a large giggle.  "He's my friend from Britain."

Gavin took a sip of her chocolate milk and stuck his tongue out, as her last statement had been spoken in an atrocious English accent.

"'s what you get for trying to fake my accent," he said with a grin.  "Anyway, yeah.  I'm a friend of her dad's."

Michael nodded slowly.

"So you work here too, then?"

"Not quite yet," Gavin replied with a shrug.  "I'm sorting a few things out back at home before I start working with Geoff."

"Ah, papers and shit, huh?"

"Sure."

As their food arrived, conversation shifted to less serious topics, such as shows on television the night before and the general small talk about the weather and Ray’s checkerboard shoes.

“So what do you do when you’re not taking five year olds out to breakfast?” Ray asked during a lull in the conversation.

Gavin and Izzy were already getting ready to leave, she with her sweater on, finishing the remnants of her chocolate milk.  “Mostly play video games with Geoff.  Sometimes I mong about online,” the Brit replied with a shrug.

“I’ve no idea what a freaking mong is, but if you’ve got the free time,” Michael began, avoiding dropping f-bombs in front of a child and pulling his phone out of his hoodie pocket and slipping it onto Gavin’s table.  “Let’s hang out.  I’m supposed to be on my honeymoon, so I’m off of work, and Ray has to go back to his job as IT guy at Nowhereland.”

Ray nudged Michael, rolling his eyes.  “Hey, I have a legit job, okay?”

Gavin shook his head, chuckling.  He entered his phone number into the cell phone in front of him.

“Izzy's dad wants her home in a bit.  Something about not having her brain ruined by me,” Gavin teased, finishing the coffee in front of him.  “Hopefully I’ll see you soon.”

The two left, Izzy’s hand held in Gavin’s as they walked across the street, Ray and Michael watching from the window.

“What are the odds of that, huh?” Ray asked, pushing his fork into his last slice of pancake.

“Yeah, I know.  Fucking crazy.”

“But at least you won’t be sitting around moping, am I right?”

“Dude, I think it’ll be good.  Friends are good.”

“Yeah, and I’m fucking chopped liver.”

“Shut up, asshole.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> Leave a comment if you can/want--it means a lot and would help me tons! I'd love to hear what you think~!


	3. A Little Less Sucky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin and Michael find each other again, and manage to get some alone time from best friends and little kids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I'm not even going to make serious excuses for my lack of writing in general. But I've had this written for a bit with not enough time to go through it again and put it up. Vacation and school and travel is making it sort of weird and writing becomes inconsistent. Okay, those were excuses but forgive me! Anyway, here's chapter three!

Michael walked with Ray into the mall, his ring heavy in his pocket, the receipt tucked in Ray's coat.

As he approached the store, he found Kerry leaning against one of the cases gesturing lazily to a few necklaces as two high school boys counted their allowance money over and over again.

Michael wanted to slap them in the face and tell them not to waste their time.

"Kerry, right?" Ray asked, not sparing a second so his friend couldn't accidentally assault a few innocent kids trying to get their girlfriends (or boyfriends, fuck if he knew) presents for Valentine's Day.

"Yeah.  Oh, Michael, shit.  Tell me you're here to buy your wife a necklace because you slept with her sister."

Michael smiled sadly, pulling the ring out of his pocket and placing it on the glass case.

"She doesn't have a sister."

Kerry took the ring in his hands and sighed.

"Right.  I'm sorry, man."

"Her loss, am I right?" Ray shrugged, stepping closer to place the receipt on the counter.

"I'm sorry, you are?"

"This is Ray, my best friend."

"Ah, I see.  I promise next time, you won't need a receipt."

Michael shrugged.  

"Won't be a next time.  It's not a big deal.  I just don't wanna see it anymore."

"I'll go get it done.  I'm sorry, Michael."

"Not your fault."

Kerry offered a sad smile, "The check'll come in the mail in a few days."

"Thanks, Kerry.  You the man," Michael said quietly, shoving his hands in his pockets again as Ray led him out.

-

Ray began getting ready by seven, while Michael laid on the couch with his arms sprawled while he watched TV.

"I'll be back at five, okay?  Order a pizza, drink some beer, don't do drugs, call that guy over.  Make some plans, Mikey.  We're gonna get you on your feet as fast as possible."

"Yeah, Ray, whatever."

He pressed the button on his Xbox to watch something on Netflix, but the console switched to play Call of Duty instead.

"Yeah, alright, fucker," Michael muttered, sitting up.  "I could play."

-

Gavin ran his fingers through his hair.

"Izzy, I get it, you're mullering me in Minecraft, which I don't even understand!"

The little girl giggled, putting her controller down.  "Gavin, do you have friends?"

The man looked down with a curious look in his eye.  "Of course I do!"

"Who?"

"Well, your dad is my best friend, your mom is a very close second, and then there's you."

"We don't count, Gavvy!" she exclaimed, climbing into his lap.

"And why ever not, Miss Isabella?" the Englishman asked, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Because we're family!  I think you should get some friends because you'll be lonely!  And you're really friendly so I bet you could find one."

"Only one?"

"We gotta start small," she teased, climbing off to pick her controller up.

Gavin chuckled, rubbing his hands across his face.  "Okay, love."

"What about that guy from the diner?"

-

But how could they help it that Michael happened to be at GameStop while Gavin was carrying Iz on his back while examining a copy of Angry Birds for the 360.

"Oh, Gavin, please!  Please please!"

Michael crept behind them and laughed, whispering in Gavin's ear, "Oh, please, Gavin.  Get her Angry Birds, please!"

The Brit spun around, clutching Izzie tightly to his back.

"Oh, Michael!"

He crouched down to let the girl off, handing her the game.  

"It's a pleasure to see you, Miss Izz."

The little girl grinned, holding the game up to show Michael.

"It's my favorite game!  Daddy and I beat it on his phone so Gav and I are gonna beat it on our Xbox!"

"Do you think I could beat it with you sometime?"

Gavin cleared his throat ready to speak, but Izzy cut in.

"Yes!  Yes yes yes!"

Michael met Gavin's eye with a raised brow.

"Okay, well maybe one day I'll come around."

"So what are you here to do, Michael?"

"I'm just picking up a game for Ray.  And for me too, I guess, since I'll get to play it while he's at work."

Gavin nodded, getting in line behind Michael for the register as they talked about the games they were getting, Ray desperately wanted to get GTA V.  Gavin promptly added that he and Geoff planned to get it, but first they had to figure out how to do it without Griffon or Izzy finding out.

"So, Michael," Iz started, swinging her bag around only to be stopped by Gavin.  "We're going to get ice cream, do you wanna come?"

"Are we?" Gavin teased, picking her up for a moment to kiss her on the cheek.

"Yeah!  Can Michael come?"

Gavin glared at the young girl before replying, "Yeah, okay.  Mint chocolate chip?"

As she skipped ahead of them out of the shop, Izzy grinned.  "Of course!"

Michael chuckled.  "Dude, that's my favorite flavor."

Iz giggled as they began walking towards the ice cream parlor.

-

Michael sat in his living room, staring at his phone, the green call button prominent on the screen.

Ray had just left for work, reminding him that he was only a phone call away, and if he was going to have a breakdown could it be during his lunch.

But somehow, for some reason, Michael couldn't get the loser with a lame British accent out of his head, couldn't help but wonder what his story was.  He couldn't help but wonder why he spent his days with a five year old.

At this point, nine in the morning, Izzy should be at school by now, he knew she would be.  He should just call him before he lost the chance.

Before he could even press the button, his phone rang.

The name shone on the screen, the name belonging to the guy he'd been stressing out about.

Gavin

Michael scrambled to pick up the phone, his ringtone already repeating twice.

"Hello?"

"Oh, bloody hell, I was about to hang up.  Thought you were busy."

"Nah, I was about to call you."

"Really?  Damn, I could have gone a moment without being the desperate one, eh?"

Michael smirked.  What an asshole.

"Sure, Gav."

"So I called you to ask if you wanted to hang out."

"I was going to ask you the same thing if you gave me the fucking chance."

Michael heard the other man chuckle, and then asked if breakfast was in order.

"Sounds great.  Let me call Geoff to make sure he can pick Iz up, okay?"

"Sounds fine.  See you at the diner?"

"Awesome.  See you."

-

Gavin walked into the diner, wringing his hands nervously.  He sat at a table in the back corner of the diner by the window, tugging his coat off.  Texas had been colder than he'd expected it to he, especially in the mornings.  

"Morning, Gav.  Can I take your order?" the pretty waitress asked, batting her eyes at him.

"Sure, I'll take a coffee and three pancakes, two eggs, and some hash browns, please."

The girl smiled, flipped her hair, and walked back to the kitchen.

Gavin waited for a moment without a sign of Michael, staring at his fingers absentmindedly.

"Hey, did you order already?"

"Yeah, pancakes and eggs and hash browns.  And coffee."

"I didn't ask what you ordered, idiot," Michael chuckled, taking his own coat off.

The waitress came back around with Gavin's coffee, and Michael stuttered when she asked for his order.

"I, uh, I think, uh--"

"He'll have what I'm having, please, Barbara," Gavin answered for him, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Sure thing, Gavin," she said with a smirk, leaving with a flourish and a lingering touch in Gavin's shoulder.

Michael remained frozen until Gavin snapped his fingers hastily at him.

"Earth to Michael?"

"Sorry, that girl, Barbara, she's gorgeous," Michael sighed, his fingers moving along the hem of his collar.  "And she's totally into you."

Gavin shook his head, wrapping his fingers around the mug in front of him.

"What, you're not into her?" Michael asked.

"It's not that.  She's beautiful, yeah, but I'm not really interested at the moment."

"Oh, you've got someone else?" Michael asked, sounding genuinely interested.  

Gavin grew quiet, sipping at his coffee while Barbara came around and placed their plates of food in front of them.

"Is he okay?" Barbara asked Michael in a hushed tone.

"He just sort of stopped."

The blonde nodded understandingly, straightening her back.  "That happens sometimes.  At least you're with him."

"What do you mean?" Michael asked when she turned around to go back to the kitchen.

She shrugged, the words leaving her mouth in a solemn manner: "This is the first time he's brought anyone besides his housemates or the little girl."

Michael nodded, staring at his fork before he lightly kicked Gavin on the shin.

"Hey man, eat up."

"Right, sorry," Gavin muttered, bringing the bit of pancake on his fork to his lips.  "Really sorry."

"That happen often?" Michael asked, chewing on his own breakfast.

"Yeah, sorry."

They sat in silent for a bit, an awkward period where they were simply eating.

"So what was the story with the ring?" Gavin asked quietly.

Michael looked up and shrugged.  

"Her name is Lindsay.  The prettiest girl I've ever met, the second girl to leave me at the altar.  She was awesome, into the same video games I was, all about being with me.  She was my favorite person in the world, so I proposed.  I'd known her longer than my other girl, so I figured it was like the movies.  She'd waited this long for me and I loved her.  She said yes, and here we are, eight months later and we had the wedding planned and she left."

Gavin nodded slowly.

"I'm sorry.  I know what it's like to lose someone."

"The worst part is that she works with Ray, so I have no idea how that's going to go down."

"Would you take her back?  Marry her again if she came back?"

Michael shook his head.

"I don't think I could.  Not after she left, you know?  I don't think she was very sure about marrying me, so how can I be sure that she loves me?"

"Did you give her the chance to explain?  What if something happened?"

"Then she should have told me instead of running away."

Gavin nodded, stuffing the last bit of pancake on his plate into his mouth.

"So how long have you been here?"

If Gavin hadn't known better, if he hadn't been so tired, he would have noticed that the words came out like Michael was on a first date.  But he was too distracted for that.

"Three months going on four, I think.  Not long, honestly.  I came as soon as my visa was approved.  I came to take care of that little girl, Iz."

"So you came just for her?"

"I went through some stuff back in England.  Izzy makes it feel a little less sucky," Gavin shrugged, standing.  "Anyway, do you wanna get out of here?  There's a Dave and Buster's just a few minutes from here if you're looking to play some skeeball."

Michael grinned, tugging his own coat on as he placed payment on the table.  "We're going to be great friends."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Please leave a kudos or a comment if you get the chance, and let me know what you think about the story so far. I love hearing from you guys!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> If you have the time, leave a comment to tell me what you think--thanks!


End file.
